2024 K League Transfer Window Closes With 119 New Registrations | OneFootball

The 2024 K League summer transfer window closed on Wednesday 31st July, having opened on June 20th. A total of 119 players were either newly or re-registered, 51 in K League 1 and 68 in K League 2. However, players returning to their parent clubs from military service, or players whose loan deal was made permanent are not counted.

Image via K League press release

Of the 51 registrations in K League 1, 11 were free transfers, 20 were permanent deals, 15 were loans, and four were first-time registrations. There was also one player returning from a loan elsewhere. Thirty-five of the 51 were domestic players with 16 foreigners.

In K League 2, 27 were free transfers, nine permanent deals, 23 loans, and eight first-timers. Fourty-nine were domestic players while 19 were foreigners.

The transfer window closed with a total of 952 players registered at the 25 K League clubs. In K League 1, the total came to 490 for an average of 40.8 per team, and 462 in K League 2 for an average of 35.5.

Moves within K League - Lee Seung-woo, Kim Gyeong-min, An Byong-jun, Bobsin

K League star forward Lee Seung-woo transferred from Suwon FC to Jeonbuk during the summer window. Lee Seung-woo scored 10 goals and registered two assists this season for Suwon, continuing his streak of double-digits for the third consecutive year.

After transferring from FC Seoul to Gangwon FC, Kim Gyeong-min came off the bench in his new team's Round 25 win over Jeonbuk and bagged a brace.

An Byong-jun has returned to where his K League journey began, putting on a Suwon FC shirt after four years elsewhere. An joined Suwon from Busan IPark and will have fond memories from his first stint at Castle Park having finished the campaign as top scorer, in the 2020 K League 2 Best 11, and being named MVP after playing a leading role in Suwon FC's promotion.

Then there's, Bertola, who proved himself to be a more than capable playmaker while in the Sky Blue of Daegu FC. He's changed the name he's registered as with K League to Bobsin after transferring to Daejeon.

Returning to Korea from overseas - Jung Woo-young, Nam Tae-hee, Kim Moon-hwan

Some notable national team-level domestic players who have experienced various overseas leagues returned to their home country this summer. Defensive midfielder Jung Woo-young, who played at the 2018 Russia World Cup and the 2022 Qatar World Cup, has signed for Ulsan HD. Jung has played in the Japanese, Chinese, Qatar, and Saudi leagues, and his vast experience will be of great use for the Horangi.

The 'Messi of the Middle East', Nam Tae-hee will be stepping onto the K League stage for the first time, 15 years since his debut having signed for Jeju United. Nam Tae-hee has plied his trade in various leagues including France, Qatar, and Japan, and scored seven goals in 54 caps for South Korea. Nam Tae-hee will be tasked with solving Jeju’s scoring problem, as the islanders currently rank 10th for total goals scored with 26.

Kim Moon-hwan has returned to K League with Daejeon Hana Citizen. Kim Moon-hwan has played for Busan IPark and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors domestically, as well as LAFC in the US and Al Duhail in Qatar. Kim Moon-hwan is known for his qualities as an aggressive full back, and is being looked upon to help steer Daejeon out of the relegation zone.

New overseas arrivals - Franko Kovačević, Yazan Al-Arab, Lachlan Wales, Felipe Saraiva

Gangwon has recruited Franko Kovačević, a striker who has appeared for Croatia's U21s, has already impressed Gangwon fans by scoring his first goal for the club in just his second appearance. Gangwon also signed Australian winger Henry Hore, a versatile and skillful player who can operate across the attack.

FC Seoul brought in Jordan national team centre back Yazan Al-Arab. Yazan is known for his strong physique, which allows him to compete for possession and defend man-to-man. Attention is now focused on whether he can show the same solid defensive ability he showed against the Korean national team in the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup in the K League.

Gyeongnam signed Lachlan Wales and Felipe Saraiva. Wales was a member of the Australian national team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is a wing forward who can use both feet. Wales has quickly adapted to K League, scoring one and assisting four in four matches since joining the Roses. Saraiva who has played 187 games in Brazil's Serie A, and his strength is his quick dribbling. Saraiva has also hit the ground running with a goal and an assist in three games.

K League's busiest clubs, Daejeon and Suwon Bluewings

Daejeon Hana Citizen, who sit bottom of K League 1, have brought in more players than any other team in K League 1 with 11, followed by Jeonbuk with eight.

First, Daejeon recruited foreign players such as Kelvin, Bobsin, and Masa, who played a leading role in Daejeon’s promotion to K League 1, and also actively recruited domestic players such as Kim Moon-hwan, Kim Min-woo, Kim Hyun-wook, Park Jeong-in, Lee Sang-min, Cheon Seong-hoon, and Choi Geon-ju. Jeonbuk registered Andrigo, Han Kook-young, Kim Tae-hyun, Yeon Je-woon, Kim Ha-jun, Lee Seung-woo, Jeon Jin-woo, and Yoo Je-ho.

In K League 2, Suwon recorded the most signings with a total of 11 players including Paulino, Peter Makrillos, Sebastian Maillatt, Hwang In-taek, Lee Gyu-dong, Lee Jae-wook, Bae Seo-joon, Hong Won-jin, Ryu Seung-wan, Kim Ji-ho, and Park Woo-jin.